Eerie Eastern U.S. Holes
Garrison, New York, Golf Club--14th Hole
In the scenic Hudson River Valley, this course's 215-yard, par-3 14th tests both accuracy and nerve. The green tests psyches in a "supernatural" way, for perched above it is a 19th-century graveyard where alleged ghostly sightings and those mossy, somber tombstones cause players' hands and knees to quiver enough to roll even "gimme" putts nowhere near the cup.
Willbrook Plantation, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina--8th Hole
The antebellum vistas of this gorgeous course--a former plantation--are a powerful lure for golfers flocking to links mecca Myrtle Beach. For those with a sense of history, however, this course's 8th hole is a haunted patch. There, you'll see a historical plaque noting the presence of a slave cemetery. Local lore has it that the slaves' sad souls still haunt the area.
Weird Western U.S. Holes
Trilogy Golf Club, Vistancia, Arizona
The uneasy spirits that reportedly haunt every hole on this panoramic course are those of Native Americans. According to many players, strange and sudden whirlwinds arise as little funnel clouds blow shots and players off course--the gusts sometimes hitting 50 miles per hour or more.
Trails West Golf Course, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Here, players have to keep their eyes open for a ghost who can materialize on either the front or back nine. The apparition is reportedly Catherine Sutter, who was headed West with her husband and family in the 1880s. Neither she nor her family survived the journey, and the legend is that she wanders the course still searching for her family.
Aetna Springs Golf Course, Aetna Springs, California
This spooky tale is more California Screamin' than California Dreamin'. Players have long claimed to see eight ghostly Dominican monks walking in two rows across the course--the apparitions' heads shaven and agony etched on their faces. In the 1500s, Franciscan monks in the area reportedly tortured and killed Dominican friars in the region. A player who snapped two on-course photos in 1963 captured eight ghostly monks filing in two rows across a fairway.
Hallowed and Haunted St. Andrews
St. Andrews Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland--18th Hole
St. Andrews--the cradle of golf--is both hallowed and haunted. At the 18th hole of the Old Course, a stark yet stately monument testifies to the agony not of golfers, but of martyrs. Five 15th- and 16th-century Protestants were burned at the stake there.
The New Club at St. Andrews bears similar testimony to the otherworldly. Scotland's most-famed golfer, 19th-century British Open titan Old Tom Morris, fell down a flight of stairs and died from a fractured skull on the site. Reported sightings of the white-bearded great soon followed.
About The Author
Peter F. Stevens is an award-winning author and journalist whose 10 books include "The Voyage of the Catalpa." For more than 25 years, he has contributed to a wide array of publications including "American Heritage," "American History," "Yankee," "VFW," "Golf," and "Golf News." The "New York Times" frequently syndicates his work.
